Green Smoothie Challenge Days 1-4

As I mentioned in my previous post, I decided to do a 30 day Green Smoothie Challenge (GSC). Green Smoothies were the start of consuming more raw foods for me. After a couple of weeks, people around me began to comment on how great my skin looked. I noticed my allergies weren’t bothering me as much. My nose cleared up completely!

Check out my last 4 days of GS.

Day 1 GS

Pineapple and Kale 

3 large Kale leaves

1 cup pineapple

1 Large piece of ginger
hemp seeds

Day 2-GS turned into a GJ (green juice)

Unpasteurized Apple Juice

2-3 large handfuls of spinach

1/3 banana

1 inch peice of ginger

1 tsp raw honey

 Water

Day 3- Tuesday's GS

Kale Colada

1/2 banana

2 tsp coconut butter

kale

lime big piece of ginger

1tsp honey

Day 4 Wednesday's GS (Double Day)

Green Apple Spice

Unpateurized Apple Juice

3 large handfuls spinach

Dash of cinnamon

large piece ginger

juice fom 1/2 lemon

Mango and Parsley Colada

1 Young Coconut and its juice

1 small handful of parsley

mango

splash of vanilla

pinch of salt

lime juice 

ginger 

**I'm trying to get over an illness so, I've been adding ginger, garlic, honey and cinnamon to many of my meals and drinks**

30 Days / 30 Green Smoothies

Hey Everyone!

In my last post I mentioned that a I stopped eating a high raw diet for about 3-4 days and began to get migranes and eventually, I got sick. I still don't feel well but I feel like it's getting worse. Because of this, I've decided to go back to eating 90% raw starting today. What's the number 1 go to food for Raw Foodist? The Green Smoothie! Why?

Answer- Because they pack so much nutrients and vitamins. They're tasty and an easy way to get your greens in.

So why not start a Green Smoothie challenge? For 30 days I will drink a different Green Smoothie each day! If you're interested in learning more about green smoothies please visit The Smoothie Revolution or Green For Life.  If you're interested in doing your own Smoothie Challenge or just want some more recipes come back to visit me and Green Diva Mom.

Check out some of my favorite raw foodists and videos.

Not sure what's going on but...

I don't like it!

Last week I had a migraine that lasted for a couple of days, but I was still on track. My updates are not flowing as I would like because of my schedule combined with getting sick. As of a 3 days ago I began not feeling well. Supposedly, it’s my sinuses – which I’m taking OTC medication for and now I feel like it’s going to be a full blown cold. I have never, since the age of 14, caught a cold in the middle of summer. I’ve lived in AZ for 5-6 years and have been sick twice in the winter. What’s going on?

Thank God I don’t feel weak yet. I have to teach tomorrow- yes Saturday, take my little sister out for the day so, I’m doing everything I can to make sure I don’t get any worse. Today is a green smoothie, lots of water and tea day.

I also have to admit that I cut back on eating raw about the time my migraine started. During the past 4 before I began to get sick I had no-so- good food. Could that have something to do with what’s going now? I know correlation does not mean causation all I know is what I was eating 80- 95% raw I was feeling great, then I stopped and now I'm sick.

Help me out? What do you think?

4th and last week of my Challenge

Hi Guys!


This is my last week on my $34.60 week challenge. This week I spent 25.12 which leaves me with $8.88 left over for the month. My grocery list included the following: collards, tomatoes, blueberries, raspberries, corn, black beans, lentils, bananas, strawberries and cashews. Unfortunately, I’ve been unable to take any pictures this week because my camera is not working. I mainly stuck to collard wraps, dehydrated veggie wraps, smoothies. I was able to use my camera phone for some pics but I the color wasn’t that great. Check out some of my meals.

Blueberries Hemp Protein Smoothie

Chocolate Almond Butter Hemp Protein Smoothie

Basic Salad with any veggie I could find in an Avocado Ranch Dressing

 

Collard Wrap with cooked onions, black beans and raw corn, spinch and tomato

Eggplant Bacon, Tomato, Spinach and hummus wrapped in a Sun dried Tomato Flax wrap

Collard wrap with alfalfa sprouts, carrots, tomatoes, onions, lettuce and more.

Challenge Week 3 Day 21

Today was a good day! Check out today's meals

Breakfast: Mango Shake

1 large Mango, pinch of cinnamon, 1 Tbsp cashews, 1 tsp bee pollen

Lunch: Corn Chowder

1 large Corn Cob,1/4 cup carrots, thin slice onion, 1 tbsp Walnuts, 1 tsp Olive Oil, salt, pepper

Dinner: Basic Salad with tomato and chilis

Dessert: Plum Blueberry Cobbler w/ Banana Soft Serve

Challenge Week 3 Day 20

Today was pretty eventful. I’ve lived in my (1st) house for about 3 ½ years. I had no idea how much maintenance went into keeping up a house, from the backyard, bushes, plumbing to the irrigation system. Wow! At the moment I feel like my whole house is leaking; the bathtub faucet, a few sprinklers and the toilet is constantly running. Early tomorrow morning I will be heading out to Home Depot with a friend to figure out what’s fixable and what parts I need.


Moving on, here are today’s meals. Oh! I did go to Whole Foods for a mango and brussel sprouts and spent 3.89 leaving me with $10.75 for the rest of the week.

Breakfast: Nectarine Smoothie

2 nectarines, 1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds, 1 tsp bee pollen

Post Workout Shake: Chocolate Shake

2 Tbsp Hemp Protein, 1 Tbsp Hemp Seeds,

1 tspChia Seeds , 1 med ripeBanana,

1.5 tsp Cacao powder, 1 tsp bee pollen, cinnamon

 

Lunch: Cream of Broccoli Soup and Steamed Brussel Sprouts tossed w/ Olive Oil and seasoning

 

 

Dinner: Miso Noodle Soup and Spring Rolls with Chili Lime Dipping Sauce

Dessert: Peach Berry Sorbet

1/2 cup raspberries, 2 peaches, small piece banana blended

Challenge Week 3 Day 19

Monday was a routine day for me. I worked early in the day and later worked on some home projects. My meals were simple too. Check them out!

Breakfast: Almond Butter Shake

Almond Butter, Banana, Dates and Brazil Nut Milk

Lunch: My version of Alissa Cohen's Boccoli Soup

Almond Milk (1/4 cup Almond, 2 cups water)

1 cup broccoli

tiny piece of onion

garlic clove

cumin

cayenne

Dinner: Cobb Salad w/ Avocado Italian dressing (still working out recipe)

Dole Romaine Blend, Corn, Broccoli, Radishes, Cucumber, Tomatoes and Carrot

Tried it Again! Trip to Ahwatukee’s Farmers Market

The first week of my challenge I went to the Phoenix Farmers Market and only scored some herbs. The herbs were great but I was looking for more. Well, this morning I made it to Ahwatukee’s Farmers Market at 8 and was pleasantly surprised. There were many more vendors than last time I visited and they were so friendly in spite of the ridiculously hot (kind of humid) weather. I scored a lot for only $12.

After the Farmers Market, I went to the grocery store for some almonds, sunflower seeds, pumkin seeds, bananas and medjool dates. I got them for 7.95.

From last week: cucumber, plums, broccoli; Farmers Market: green and red apple, nectarines, tomatoes, zuchinni, micro greens purple basil, corn, mint; Store: medjool dates,limes, bananas, almonds, sunflower seeds and pumkin seeds 

Around noonish I met up with a couple of friends for lunch at the Blue Nile Café. Every 2nd or 3rd Sunday they have a special raw food menu. We split a Caesar Salad and two of us ordered the Baha Burrito served with guacamole, sour cream sauce and mango salsa. The Caesar Salad was good but I did not like the soft croutons. The Baha Burrito looked familiar to me. I spoke with the owner and found out that they got the recipe from the book 'The Art of raw living Food', which I have.

Baha Burrito

I spent the rest of my Saturday defrosting my fridge, cleaning and creating my weekly menu. Tomorrow, I'll pot my menu for the next couple of days.

'til then, 

Chelz 

Challenge Week 3 Day 16

Happy Friday Guys!!

I didn’t have any greens yesterday so, I made sure to have lots today. For breakfast I had a Purple/ Green Smoothie filled with lots of blueberries, dark purple grapes and spinach. Lunch was a salad with bib lettuce, peaches and walnuts. The dressing was a blend of honey, lime juice and olive oil. Dinner was marinated veggie bowl served with Kelp noodles. Take a look~

Blend of Spinach, Blueberries, Dark Grapes

Banana Filled Vanilla Walnut Cookies

Bib Lettuce and Spinach Salad with peaches and Walnuts

Kelp Noodle Bowl With Marinates Broccoli, Carrots, Mushrooms

Dessert: Dark Chocoate and Almond Butter Filled Cookies. (Yes! One cookie is dipped in chocolate)

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Chelz

Thrifty Raw Food Challenge Update Days 13, 14, and 15

Hey Guys!

It’s been a couple of days since I’ve posted. I apologize for the delay as I’ve been having slight migraines. Today marks the beginning of week for my Thrifty ($34.60) Raw Food Challenge. The challenge has been going quite well. At the moment I’m under budget by about $9 but I must admit I’ve eating a lot of fruit and less greens. Since my migraine as significantly subsided, I will be researching different low preparation meals.

Sunday, I dehydrated some Walnut Hemp crackers and Monday I made some rejuvelac for Sunflower Seeds cheese. Unfortunately, I did not use the rejuvelac in time and had to throw it out. So, no cheese yet.

In the meantime, I was looking on Kristen’s Raw blog and discovered she having a giveaway. She’s giving away a complete set of ebooks.  If you’re not familiar with her blog, you’re missing out on some great information. 

Take a look at today's meals so far. Strawberries have been on sale! This morning I had homemade strawberry granola cereal! 

Strawberry Pineapple Swirl Shake

Chocolate Covered Strawberries

My little Sis from Big Brother Big Sister wanted some dipped in White chocolate. 

Yes I know, I have eaten my greens yet, but I will have a very green dinner. I will update soon! 

Challenge Week 2 Day 12 Monday

Happy Monday Everyone!

Today was an extra hot day. My dogs just laid in front of their doggy door wishing they could go out. Every time they would go out their door return in less than a minute. My AC was running all day long. Honestly, I wouldn't know what to do if I did not have central air.

Today's meal were light and VERY simple; Fruit and Veggies. I had whole grapefruit juice for my pre-workout meal.

Just Juiced by Vitamix

Post Workout Shake:

Strawberries

Hemp Seeds

Hemp Protein Powder

Banana

Spicy Lime Dipping Sauce:

Lime Juice

Scallions

Shredded Carrot

Rice Wine Vinegar

Tamari

Agave

Chili

Ginger

Spring Rolls:

Rice Paper

Butter Lettuce

Kelp Noodles

Basil

Mint

Chili Slivers

Ginger Slivers

Snack:

Cantaloupe

Strawberries

Hemp Seeds

Basic Salad:

Dole Greener Selection

Spinach

Cucumber

Tomatoes

Red Onions

Avocado

Olive Oil

Lemon Juice